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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26572318">Pack Animals</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/flammablehat/pseuds/flammablehat'>flammablehat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Community: criticalkink, Dehumanization, Dirty Talk, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, it's open season on caduceus' booty now i don't make the rules</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:07:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26572318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/flammablehat/pseuds/flammablehat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Oh my god, Caduceus, are you going to seduce Eodwulf to our side?” Jester squealed. “Ohmygod this is just like <i>The Courting of the Crick</i>, only you can’t let him get captured or anything—” </p><p>“Yeah, I didn’t read that book,” Caduceus said, grinning agreeably. “Maybe we’ll just start with a cup of tea and see where that goes?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Caduceus Clay/Eodwulf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>340</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Pack Animals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the following prompt from the kinkmeme: </p><p><a href="https://criticalkink.dreamwidth.org/3194.html?thread=1494906#cmt1494906">Eodwulf/Caduceus, having sex to spy on someone, dehumanization.</a> Everyone was talking about Cad and Eodwulf last night. I’d love a scenario where the M9 is talking about someone getting intimate with Astrid or Eodwulf to get more of a read on them. Caleb knows what Eodwulf flirting looks like, so comments it would have to be Caduceus. So Caduceus approaches Eodwulf with the intention of taking him up on the implied interest and they bone. </p><p>All my gratitude and thanks to Mithrilwren and Capitola for reading and offering excellent advice, and for weathering me making this the exercise in anxiety it didn't need to be. Y'all the real mvps.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Yeah, okay,” Beau started, a hand on her chin, eyes skeptical. “It might be a solid plan in a world where Cad had any reason to look for a booty call with someone he barely knows.”</p><p>“Someone he barely knows who’s also working for Count von Murderdick,” Fjord added.</p><p>“I did not suggest it was a plan at all,” Caleb said. “Only that I am familiar with what <i>interest</i> looks like on Eodwulf, and that Caduceus was its subject last night.”</p><p>Their attention panned back to Caduceus, who seemed as blithely unperturbed by the revelation as he was the first time Caleb mentioned it. </p><p>Yasha shifted, tilting her head back in the subtle way she had of expressing disquiet. </p><p>“You know…you don’t have to do anything at all. If you don’t want to.” </p><p>“Yeah, and no offense, Caleb, but people sometimes looked at me like that when I was a goblin,” Veth said. “Interest…can mean a lot of different things,” she petered off. Caleb’s hand twitched, but he didn’t reach for her. </p><p>“Ah, yeah, that’s not it,” Caduceus interjected, mild. “His attention was sexual. I could smell it.”</p><p>Fjord settled back in his chair like he’d been shoved. “You can <i>smell</i> it?” </p><p>“Yeah?” Caduceus said, in the same uncertain tone he might’ve said ‘can’t everyone?’ “I don’t know what this kind of thing might accomplish, but I don’t have anything against the idea. He’s a very attractive man, your friend.” </p><p>“Uh. Ja, he is,” Caleb agreed faintly. </p><p>Beau didn’t speak, but her hand crept above her chin to hide her mouth. </p><p>“Oh my god, Caduceus, are you going to seduce Eodwulf to our side?” Jester squealed. “Ohmygod this is just like <i>The Courting of the Crick</i>, only you can’t let him get captured or anything—” </p><p>“Yeah, I didn’t read that book,” Caduceus said, grinning agreeably. “Maybe we’ll just start with a cup of tea and see where that goes?”</p>
<hr/><p>Even in the relatively new violence of his lifestyle with the Nein, Caduceus had never had his breath knocked from his chest before. </p><p>It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, followed up by the firm pressure of a large body pinning him in place and a hot mouth over his own. A rumble shuddered through him, the echo of Eodwulf’s quiet laughter as he skimmed his kiss across Caduceus’ jaw. </p><p>“What does he mean by sending you to me? To make you a present?” </p><p>A large hand cupped Caduceus’ face, tilting him down. Eodwulf’s eyes were sharp, curious. </p><p>“Not much of a present. I’d be a little hard to wrap,” Caduceus lifted his shoulders. Eodwulf — Wulf, as Caleb called him — was not a small man. He stood perhaps a head shorter than Caduceus himself, which was impressive for a human. He also had a breadth and density that made Caduceus feel strangely…delicate, which was new. </p><p>“A spy, then,” Eodwulf said, sweeping the curve of Caduceus’ cheekbone with a thumb. </p><p>“I think that was the idea. But, just so you know, I’m not doing anything I don’t want to.” </p><p>“Oh, well, then I am reassured,” Eodwulf said. His eyes panned Caduceus’ face again. Not a piercing look this time, but an exploratory one. </p><p>And then his free hand tightened at Caduceus’ nape, pressing him down into another kiss. Caduceus’ breath thinned, his hands gathering in the fine black weave of Eodwulf’s shirt to steady himself. </p><p>Jester had sent the message. Eodwulf named the inn. They hadn’t specified who’d be meeting him, and it was clear Eodwulf had expected something else entirely when he opened his door and found Caduceus on the other side, alone. Caduceus often missed the finer details of his friends’ plans, mostly making up for it by keeping up with the big picture, but if there was a unifying thread in this encounter, he was having a hard time seeing it past the desire buzzing through him in a sudden, oppressive swarm. </p><p>A plucking sensation at his chest drew his attention down, parting the kiss messily.</p><p>“Get this off, yeah?” Eodwulf found his buckles without waiting for a reply, swiftly undoing each one. Caduceus’ breastplate loosened, cool air sneaking beneath it into the damp warmth of his tunic. </p><p>“Ah, okay,” Caduceus said. He helped as quickly as his clumsy fingers allowed, setting his armor aside carefully before struggling out of his clothes. </p><p>Eodwulf drew off his shirt but made no motion to remove his gauntlets. He grabbed Caduceus at the hips and steered him towards the bed, pushing him down with casual ownership. The heat in Caduceus’ skin spiked, his elbows catching his weight. </p><p>“Look at you, pretty spy,” Eodwulf said. He grinned, small and appreciative, and went to his knees in a single fluid motion. </p><p>Caduceus dropped flat, spasming at the sudden shock — of intimacy and touch, at the sweet hot drag of a tongue against his genitals. Eodwulf’s mouth was precise and insistent, coaxing. Caduceus blinked at the rough wood beams crossing the ceiling and panicked about where to put his hands, hips arching even as Eodwulf gripped his thigh, palmed the small of his back and lifted, drawing him in. </p><p>Caduceus’ panting breath layered over the wet, animal rumbling of Eodwulf’s mouth on him. Pleasure belled and crested swiftly; Caduceus grabbed at the coarse brush of Eodwulf’s hair, anxiety forgotten as he threw his head back and shouted, writhing through the battering crash of the wave. </p><p>Eodwulf drew away to bite at the soft of his belly, growling something incoherent. </p><p>“What?” Caduceus asked, still trembling. </p><p>“You’re furred like a fast hound,” Eodwulf said, scrubbing his fingers roughly down Caduceus’ flanks, making him shudder. “Turn over.” </p><p>It was more of an inelegant roll, but Caduceus gratefully ducked his face into the counterpane, allowing his legs to be parted and hips lifted to fit a pillow beneath. His groin throbbed with sensitivity, and Eodwulf was simultaneously gentle but indifferent, sinking a cool, wet finger inside him. Turning his head, Caduceus peered over his shoulder to watch Eodwulf’s arm and shoulder work a smooth, firm rhythm of twisting pressure. Dark hair covered his broad chest, narrowing as it reached his belly and the band of his trousers. Caduceus huffed a soundless laugh against his arm. </p><p>“Recovered already?” Eodwulf lifted a brow even as he paired a second finger with his first. </p><p>Caduceus caught his breath before nodding towards Eodwulf’s chest. </p><p>“Just noticing another thing we have in common.” </p><p>He caught the flash of an edged, fleeting grin before he had to turn his face into the bed and gasp. Broad thighs nudged up between his own, bumping him into a wider splay. A shuffle of cloth, a palm at his hip, and Caduceus squeezed his eyes shut, balled his hands in the sheets, choked at the smooth and implacable invasion as Eodwulf mounted him. </p><p>“Shhh.” Eodwulf soothed, hands petting down Caduceus’ ribs even as his hips picked up an aggressive tempo. </p><p>It didn’t hurt, not precisely. Caduceus was new to sex, but he’d long understood that pain wasn’t unique in its ability to overwhelm. Eodwulf rode his body with a possessive force that rocked the cheap rented bed beneath them. Each thrust folded Caduceus tighter against himself, amplifying the feeling that his bones were dissolving into something molten. </p><p>Eodwulf’s chest covered his back, his hands braced on the bed above Caduceus’ shoulders. Thin blue light crackled and skittered over his forearms, illuminating the leather of his gauntlets, barely visible through Caduceus’ slitted vision. A bearded chin rubbed against his shoulder, abrading his neck. Teeth scraped at the tender skin behind his ear. </p><p>“Fey, beguiling creature,” Eodwulf rasped. He braced Caduceus with a bruising grip at his waist, fucking into him faster. “Not a hound, but a bitch, you take a cock so well.” </p><p>It sounded like praise. It felt like praise, flushing up the length of Caduceus’ spine. He settled his weight deeper into his chest, struggling to lift into Eodwulf’s grasp. It earned him a rough laugh that melted into a growl. The bed creaked, their hips slapped with each rapid impact, Caduceus whined into his fist as Eodwulf’s unfailing rhythm slowly began to scatter. With a final burst of thrusts, a hand gripped the back of Caduceus’ neck, pinning him down. Eodwulf groaned a tight string of words Caduceus belatedly realized were Zemnian. </p><p>They caught their breath. Eodwulf carefully rolled off, dropping his arms above his head with a sigh. He wasn’t smiling, which made Caduceus wonder absently if satisfaction had its own subtle smell. He closed his eyes, letting the tremors settle.</p>
<hr/><p>When he opened his eyes, Eodwulf had put his shirt back on, and was seated beside Caduceus on the bed. The corner of his mouth twitched up in greeting. </p><p>“I fell asleep,” Caduceus realized aloud. The thought was slightly appalling. He pictured Beau gripping her hair in horrified disbelief. </p><p>“Your exhaustion was flattering.” Eodwulf shrugged. “Maybe you share that detail with Bren when you return to your friends.” </p><p>Caduceus propped his chin on his folded arms, peering up at the man beside him. </p><p>“Huh,” he said, a seed of certainty taking root. “You’re jealous.” </p><p>Eodwulf scoffed, glancing sidelong at him. “I would not trade for Bren’s troubles. Not even for the pleasure of your company in the bargain.”</p><p>“No, you wouldn’t. You’re not jealous of what he has,” Caduceus agreed. “You’re jealous of his failure.” </p><p>Eodwulf looked at him again, slowly this time. Caduceus rolled the thought around in his mind, letting it solidify. </p><p>“You do not think very highly of him, if he is your friend,” Eodwulf said. His eyes were shrewd, tone inscrutable. </p><p>“On the contrary,” Caduceus said. “I respect Caleb a great deal. There’s no honor in successfully serving a monster.” </p><p>The air sharpened with a scent like ozone. Eodwulf didn’t move, but the fur at the nape of Caduceus’ neck rose, a warning. </p><p>“You were content to let a monster’s servant master <i>you</i>,” Eodwulf said, voice tight. </p><p>“Mm,” Caduceus nodded, blinking slowly. “Caleb calls you Wulf, I’m sure you know. Wolf,” he mused, imitating Caleb’s pronunciation, and then repeating it plainly. Eodwulf’s eyes narrowed, the only mark of his confusion. </p><p>“They’re pack animals,” Caduceus explained. “It’s interesting, is all. There’s always a leader among wolves. They don’t really have the same ideas about mastery and servitude that we do. Submission isn’t a source of shame.” He smiled, stretching just to feel the novel soreness in his body. Eodwulf watched him, intensity drained away, leaving something wary in its place. </p><p>“I thought you had no taste for doublespeak,” he said, finally. Caduceus laughed, turning onto his back. </p><p>“I liked…what we did,” Caduceus said, surprised by his own sudden shyness. Eodwulf’s smile told him the careful phrasing hadn’t passed unnoticed. “I’ve been wanting to try something of the kind for a while, and you were a very capable guide. It was a pleasure to follow your lead. But if you had treated me cruelly, it wouldn’t have been my fault. And if I had endured it, it would not mean I should have to keep enduring it. ” </p><p>Eodwulf stood abruptly, pacing to the room’s single window. He turned back after a long moment, visibly searching for words. </p><p>“It is…uncanny the way you do that,” he said, accusing. </p><p>Caduceus spread his hands, accepting the comment for what it was. He got to his feet as well, casting around for his clothes and beginning to dress. Eodwulf studied the floor, dark brows knit in thought. Caduceus approached as he tightened the last buckle of his armor. </p><p>Eodwulf lifted his gaze with a complicated blend of appraisal and caution. “Well,” he said. “Did you collect what you were sent to find, my lovely spy?” </p><p>His eyes went wide as Caduceus tipped up his jaw and took a farewell kiss, something slow, and certain, and kind.  </p><p>“I’m not sure,” Caduceus said, warm. “But I have faith.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, feel free to poke me on Tumblr if you wanna hang; it's 95% cr shitposts and memes with big stretches of nothing in between lol</p></blockquote></div></div>
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